Division I State Rankings, Analysis, and Preview

Division I 106 lbs Rankings and Analysis

1	Austin Assad	Brecksville	Cleveland State	Sophomore
2	Jose Rodriguez	Massillon Perry	Mentor	Sophomore
3	LJ Bentley	Lakewood St. Edward	Cleveland State	Sophomore
4	Luke Nace	Teays Valley	Darby	Junior
5	Josh Heil	Brunswick	Cleveland State	Freshman
6	Tony Decesare	Nordonia	Cleveland State	Freshman
7	Payton Gutierrez	Pickerington Central	Darby	Senior
8	Josh Heidkamp	Vandalia Butler	Fairfield	Senior
9	Noah Baughman	Wadsworth	Cleveland State	Freshman
10	Mario Gullen	Perrysburg	Cleveland State	Freshman
11	Garrett Lambert	Strongsville	Cleveland State	Freshman
12	Jake Donahue	Massillon Washington	Mentor	Freshman
13	Kyle Jenkins	Stow Munroe Falls	Mentor	Freshman
14	Andre Lowery	Shaker Heights	Mentor	Sophomore
15	Jonathan Furnas	Olentangy Liberty	Darby	Sophomore
16	Anthony Jagel	Middletown	Fairfield	Sophomore
17	Patrick Kearney	Mason	Fairfield	Sophomore
18	Hunter Deshon	North Canton Hoover	Mentor	Freshman
19	Kenny Hoberney	Eastlake North	Mentor	Sophomore
20	Devione Edwards	Lorain	Cleveland State	Freshman
21	Daniel Clement	Solon	Mentor	Junior
22	Nico O’Dor	Elyria	Cleveland State	Freshman
23	Tanner Ruiz	Sylvania Southview	Cleveland State	Junior
24	Aaron Henneman	Oregon Clay	Cleveland State	Junior
25	Shakur Laney	Groveport Madison	Hilliard Darby	Sophomore
26	Tyler Corradi	Garfield Heights	Mentor	Sophomore
27	Sam Williams	Elder	Fairfield	Freshman
28	Harry Feuer	Mayfield	Mentor	Freshman
29	Daniel Roth	Lakota East	Fairfield	Sophomore
30	David Brunner	North Olmsted	Cleveland State	Junior

 

There was a time when 103 lbs. was just assumed to be the weakest weight class in wrestling.  The new 106 lb. weight, is not your old 103 weight by any stretch of the imagination. Given that with the weight allowance, 106 is really 108, it would be fair to estimate that probably nearly half of the wrestlers who might have been 112 back in the day will now find their way to 106.  As a result, we have a weight class that is loaded with talent.

The state title race will be a showdown between two of the nation’s best in Jose Rodriguez of Perry and Austin Assad of Brecksville.  Currently, Rodriguez is ranked #5  and Assad is ranked #3 nationally, according to www.intermatwrestle.com.  This one is truly a tossup in my eyes.  In their previous match-up at Beast of the East, Rodriguez stormed out to a 4-1 lead, only to have Assad fight back to a 5-4 win. In that match, Rodriguez looked to be a bit better on his feet, while the tenacious Assad was better on the mat.  It’s also relevant to note that Rodriguez defeated the wrestler at Ironman  (Jack Mueller of Texas) who defeated Assad.  Still, head-to-head must be decisive, so Assad must be the choice.

Bentley of St. Edward is a very solid #3 choice.  I think as the season goes on, he continues to close the gap on Assad and Rodriguez, and an upset of either of the top duo is not impossible.  I can’t see him beating both back-to-back, but knocking one or the other off is very possible.

After the top three, there is a bit of a drop-off, and then  there is a very solid and deep “second tier” that is almost interchangeable between the #4-#10 ranked wrestlers.  Nace, Heil and Decesare have been the most consistent of the group.  It will be interesting to see how the outstanding group of freshman -  namely Heil, Decesare, Guillen, and Baughman- match up with savvy upperclassmen Nace, Guiterrez, and Heidkamp.  When a guy like Guiterrez is ranked lower than he placed at this weight a year ago, you know that’s a tough weight class.

The other big story here is the dominance of the Cleveland State District- seven of the top 11 hail from that District. Mentor is also pretty respectable here, but neither Fairfield nor Darby has as much talent at the Medina Sectional had.

Division I 113 lbs Rankings and Analysis

1	Aaron Assad	Brecksville	Cleveland State	Senior
2	Armando Torres	Elyria	Cleveland State	Junior
3	Dakota Riley	Mount Vernon	Darby	Senior
4	Nick Mancini	Boardman	Mentor	Sophomore
5	Connor Ziegler	Cincinnati Moeller	Fairfield	Sophomore
6	Anthony Milano	Lasalle	Fairfield	Senior
7	Jason Spencer	Massillon Perry	Mentor	Sophomore
8	Justyn Bostic	Massillon Jackson	Mentor	Sophomore
9	Jimmy Ferritto	Cleveland St. Ignatius	Mentor	Senior
10	Jared Davis	Oregon Clay	Cleveland State	Junior
11	Colin Kramer	Mentor	Mentor	Senior
12	Andy Fausnight	North Canton Hoover	Mentor	Senior
13	Sal Corrao	Lakewood St. Edward	Cleveland State	Senior
14	Reginald Lowery	Shaker Heights	Mentor	Senior
15	Brandon Tucker	Loveland	Fairfield	Sophomore
16	Brett Thomas	Brunswick	Cleveland State	Junior
17	Collin Delvalle	Kettering Fairmont	Fairfield	Junior
18	Chris Doyle	Green	Mentor	Junior
19	Evan Collier	North Ridgeville	Cleveland State	Junior
20	Santino Disabito	Westerville North	Darby	Junior
21	Demarco Davis	Fairfield	Fairfield	Junior
22	Alec Logsdon	Lebanon	Fairfield	Sophomore
23	Andre Stowers	Maple Heights	Mentor	Freshman
24	Andre Herron	North Royalton	Mentor	Junior
25	Troy Barclay	Centerville	Fairfield	Junior
26	Marko Vilimonovic	Medina Highland	Cleveland State	Sophomore
27	Nick Broyles	Northmont	Fairfield	Junior
28	Conner Thomas	Olentangy Liberty	Darby	Freshman
29	Kyle Dooley	Teays Valley	Darby	Sophomore
30	Jacob Sharp	Sidney	Fairfield	Senior

 

The theme here might be “long overdue”.  Nationally ranked Assad has three top three state finishes to his credit- but has had the misfortune of being in weight classes with Nathan Tomasello and Brandon Thompson.  An absolutely huge 113 who is extremely consistent, he will be difficult to unseat here.  #2 Armondo Torres has had his last two seasons hi-jacked by injury, including last season when he was the consensus #3 or #4 106 in the state.  This year he has been better than ever.  While his three losses to Assad have all been by a single point, based on the bout that I saw at Ironman, I have a difficult time seeing Torres overcoming him.

A solid #3 choice is Dakota Riley.  Riley was 3^rd last year (and often very dominant along the way) and has been just as impressive this year. It’s actually somewhat debatable whether Torres should be ranked above him, but given that Torres owns two narrow wins over Division III favorite Ganger, and Ganger beat Riley (by a point) the order is clear, for now. The dangerous Nick Mancini is #4 in my view.  Very aggressive and unorthodox, Mancini is a “bad draw” for anyone in this bracket and seems to be markedly improved from a year ago.

Very solid depth at this weight, with about a dozen wrestlers who are good enough for placement in my view.  In contrast to the Cleveland State District’s dominance at 106, Mentor steals the show here, with nine of the top 18 wrestlers (although Cleveland State has the top two). To borrow from the legendary Brian Brakeman- “the cupboard is bare” once at Darby, with only one of the top 20 hailing from that District.

Division I 120 lbs Rankings and Analysis

1	Brandon Thompson	Solon	Mentor	Senior
2	David Bavery	Massillon Perry	Mentor	Junior
3	Artem Timchenko	Olentangy Orange	Darby	Senior
4	Taleb Rahmani	Marysville	Darby	Sophomore
5	Richie Screptock	Oregon Clay	Cleveland State	Sophomore
6	Ben Darmstadt	Elyria	Cleveland State	Freshman
7	Josh Wimer	Central Crossing	Darby	Junior
8	Brendon Watson	Centerville	Fairfield	Senior
9	Austin Daly	Lakota East	Fairfield	Senior
10	Greysun Barden	Fairfield	Fairfield	Senior
11	Dan Bartinelli	North Royalton	Mentor	Senior
12	Alec Cotton	Uniontown Lake	Mentor	Junior
13	Drew Dickson	North Ridgeville	Cleveland State	Junior
14	John Clouse	Beavercreek	Fairfield	Senior
15	Sam Valenti	Hilliard Darby	Darby	Senior
16	Giuseppe Penzone	Olentangy Liberty	Darby	Junior
17	Justin Joliff	Findlay	Cleveland State	Sophomore
18	Austin Hiles	Lakewood St. Edward	Cleveland State	Freshman
19	Quinn May	Lebanon	Fairfield	Sophomore
20	Nathan Burns	North Canton Hoover	Mentor	Junior
21	Connor Gray	Wadsworth	Cleveland State	Sophomore
22	Jacoby Ward	Cincinnati Moeller	Fairfield	Freshman
23	Noah Schuab	Green	Mentor	Sophomore
24	Bailey Mezinger	Fremont Ross	Cleveland State	Junior
25	Nick Collica	Nordonia	Mentor	Sophomore
26	Tyler Workman	Parma	Cleveland State	Senior
27	Micah Shorts	Shaker Heights	Mentor	Junior
28	Christian Yates	Anthony Wayne	Cleveland State	Senior
29	Jeremy Rezabek	Strongsville	Cleveland State	Sophomore
30	Matt Topoly	Brecksville	Cleveland State	Junior

 

At the start of the season, we had a three man race, with 2x state champion Brandon Thompson having a slight edge over 2012 State Champ Bavery based on wins over him back in 2011, and 2x state placer Timchenko being a solid #3, yet he was a “wildcard” that was difficult to compare to the top duo, due to missing the 2012 season.  Three months later, we’ve wrestled an entire season but resolved almost nothing. Thompson and Bavery have both performed almost exactly as you would have expected,, and based on their results I still think that Thompson is slightly better than Bavery.  Timchenko is unbeaten with some quality wins (including 7-3 over Screptock) but we haven’t seen him against any competition that could really give us a sense of how he matches up with the top duo.  My gut instinct is that he is right there with them. An interesting side-note is that Bavery and Timchenko were teammates back in 2011.

Although my pick is Thompson- one thing to think about is that back in 2011 Thompson was an absolutely huge 103, whereas Bavery of course was a small 103 who made 106 a year later.  However, this time, they will be on much more equal size footing, as one look at the very tall Bavery indicates he is anything but small for the weight.

The next group of wrestlers  here who will make things interesting are Rahmani, Screptock, Darmstadt, and Wimer.  Rahmani was 4^th at 106 a year ago and missed the majority of the season, so it’s difficult to tell how he stacks up (though he has been very dominant against lesser competition since his return). Screptock had a brilliant season a year ago as a freshman, placing 7^th in the loaded 113 weight, and after becoming a Cadet All-American in Fargo over the summer he has had another banner season, except for a somewhat surprising loss to Wimer. In the era of the 16-year-old freshmen, Ben Darmstadt has burst onto the scene this year as a 14 year old freshmen, with numerous big wins, including an 11-7 stunner over Division III state champion Sammy Gross.  Darmstadt even pushed Thompson hard in a 10-7 NOC loss. I forsee avery bright future for this wrestler.  #7 Wimer may be underrated here just as everyone had him ranked too low last year (he placed 5^th at 106). He has the win over Screptock, but is hurt in my view by a loss to #8 Brendan Watson.2x state qualifier Watson failed to place at Brecksville, losing to Screptock by fall and Mossing (whom Darmstadt defeated).

In contrast to the first two weights which are dominated by the northern Districts, here  we have almost perfect balance  between the Districts- which is good to see, as you always hate to see wrestlers good enough to place unable to get out while far interior wrestlers qualify.

Division I 126 lbs Rankings and Analysis

1	Ivan McClay	Massillon Washington	Mentor	Senior
2	Bobby Smith	Hilliard Davidson	Darby	Senior
3	Josh Parrett	Kettering Fairmont	Fairfield	Junior
4	Tommy Ziegler	St. Ignatius	Mentor	Senior
5	David Sparks	Marysville	Darby	Junior
6	Tim Rooney	St. Charles	Darby	Sophomore
7	Chance Driscoll	Lakewood St. Edward	Cleveland State	Senior
8	Alec Benedetti	North Royalton	Mentor	Junior
9	Austin Phillips	Massillon Perry	Mentor	Sophomore
10	Bryan DeRuchie	Amherst Steele	Cleveland State	Senior
11	Matt Sicurella	Glen Este	Cincinnati	Sophomore
12	Jake Evanich	North Canton Hoover	Mentor	Junior
13	AJ Donigian	Beavercreek	Fairfield	Senior
14	John Williams	Bedford	Mentor	Junior
15	Connor Borton	Cincinnati Moeller	Fairfield	Sophomore
16	Brandon Selmon	Princeton	Fairfield	Junior
17	Peter Ryan	Boardman	Mentor	Senior
18	Brad Kakos	Franklin Heights	Darby	Senior
19	Justin Demicco	Brecksville	Cleveland State	Freshman
20	Brian Henneman	Oregon Clay	Cleveland State	Senior
21	Jarrad Lasko	Madison	Mentor	Sophomore
22	Patrick Allen	Colerain	Fairfield	Senior
23	Jared Ferguson	Pickerington North	Darby	Junior
24	Bryan Crabtree	Mason	Fairfield	Senior
25	Kyle Ramsey	Lebanon	Fairfield	Junior
26	Darion Overall	Elyria	Cleveland State	Sophomore
27	Ryan Gordon	St. Xavier	Fairfield	Junior
28	Max Meddings	Fairfield		Junior
29	Jake Demio	Strongsville	Cleveland State	Senior
30	Adam Salti	Olmsted Falls	Cleveland State	Junior

 

This is far from the strongest weight class in Division I this year.  Moreover, after a highly predictable #1 choice, it is almost completely unpredictable how the next four or five wrestlers will shake out- as they not only have almost no match history between them, but also no common opponents.  It will be very interesting and I would “expect the unexpected” at this weight.

That highly predictable #1 choice, the excellent Ivan McClay of Massillon Washington, is one of the biggest favorites in all 42
weights this weekend. Already a 4^th, 2^nd, and 3^rd place state finisher, now that long-time nemesis Dicamillo has moved on to excelling in the collegiate ranks, he should be untouchable here.

My #2 choice is Bobby Smith of Hilliard Davidson- not so much on the basis of what he’s done this season at this weight as on total career. There are several intriguing things about Smith- first, his weight class strategy this season has been fascinating to say the least.  Smith competed at 145 (not a typo) through Brecksville, beating two Division I state qualifiers and losing 6-1 to nationally ranked Danishek on his way to a third place finish.  Suddlenly, he appears at 126 lbs, where he recently defeated #5 Rooney in overtime tiebreakers.  One would think that Smith has to be the biggest 126 in history, and if he can hold the weight and make the finals, an upset on the last day may be in the making on the basis of size alone.

The other interesting thing about Smith is that while he has only a 5^th place state finish in Division III to his credit currently- he could easily be a state champion and 2x state finalist right now.  As a freshman, he advanced to the semi-finals, where he lost in overtime tiebreakers to Aaron Assad- a wrestler he had previously beaten.  As a sophomore, he was ranked #1 in the state and beat eventual champion McLaughlin at Districts, only to get upset by eventual 3^rd place finisher Sandlin by a score of 4-3. He was  then eliminated inexplicably the next round.

I see Josh Parrett as the #3 choice over Ziegler for several reasons.  First, Parrett had a great showing in the preseason Super 32, reaching the semi-finals. Second, Ziegler was absolutely handled twice this year by Division II favorite Tutolo, 12-4 and 5-0. By contrast, Tutolo squeaked by Parrett last year 6-5.

#5 Sparks has an impressive trio of wins over State Placers this year- specifically, Mike Kostandaros, Richie Screptock, and Nate Hagen. He did lose to Ziegler, however.

After the top six or seven guys here, there is a major drop off and the remaining wrestlers are highly interchangeable. Out of the Fairfield District in particular, it is very difficult to make any sense of the results as after Parrett, you have about seven wrestlers that have traded wins back in forth all season without any rhyme or reason.  It’s a virtual certainty that someone out of this “second tier” is going to be a major surprise- the only question is, who will it be?

Division I 132 lbs Rankings and Analysis

1	Dean Heil	Lakewood St. Edward	Cleveland State	Senior
2	Matt Denlinger	Kettering Fairmont	Fairfield	Senior
3	Kasee McDougle	Gahanna Lincoln	Darby	Senior
4	TJ Levitsky	Parma	Cleveland State	Senior
5	Brandon Egnor	Elyria	Cleveland State	Senior
6	Sonny Shump	Barberton	Mentor	Senior
7	Kendall Newell	Vandalia Butler	Fairfield	Senior
8	Andrew Mendel	Cincinnati Moeller	Fairfield	Senior
9	Zac Carson	Uniontown Lake	Mentor	Sophomore
10	Lee Wilson	Hilliard Davidson	Darby	Junior
11	Sonny Lucas	Brecksville	Cleveland State	Sophomore
12	Nick Boggs	Painesville Riverside	Mentor	Junior
13	Shawn Williams	Bedford	Cleveland State	Junior
14	Jamie Norris	Massillon Perry	Mentor	Senior
15	Gavin Nelson	Oregon Clay	Cleveland State	Junior
16	Mario Graziani	Boardman	Mentor	Freshman
17	Taylor Bryant	Fairfield	Fairfield	Senior
18	Neil Roff	Kenston	Mentor	Senior
19	Jake Donatelli	Hilliard Darby	Darby	Senior
20	Marc Heidelman	Lodi Cloverleaf	Cleveland State	Junior
21	Nicholas Bishop	Mayfield	Mentor	Senior
22	Dejon Moss	Maple Heights	Mentor	Junior
23	Lane Hinkel	Mount Vernon	Darby	Freshman
24	Ricky Perez	Strongsville	Cleveland State	Senior
25	Jordan Wakser	North Canton Hoover	Mentor	Senior
26	Josh Scanlon	Centerville	Fairfield	Senior
27	Ben Heyob	St. Xavier	Fairfield	Sophomore
28	Ryan McGrath	Hilliard Bradley	Darby	Junior
29	Noah Messerall	Thomas Worthington	Darby	Junior
30	Xavier Wasco	North Royalton	Mentor	Sophomore

 

If there is one thing that you can be sure of, it’s that Nathan Tomasello, Dean Heil, and Bo Jordan will be crowned 4x State Champions on Saturday.  Heil has not had the season this year that he did a year ago- when he posted one of the best seasons that any Ohio wrestler has in recent years in terms of high-level wins nationally speaking- but there is nobody here that can run with him on his worst day.

In many ways this weight class is much like 126, albeit at a slightly higher level. You have one wrestler who towers over the field, and in this case, about seven more who are all stand a decent chance to make the finals. In a weight like this it’s helpful to think in terms of clusters of wrestlers, #2-8 is the group who can make the finals, #9-14 or maybe 15 is the group that is looking to place, and the others are fighting for qualification.   The clear choice for runner-up has to be Denlinger at this point- a 2011 state placer who failed to place a year ago, he’s passed every test this year, including big wins over #5 Egnor, #4 McDougle, #7 Newell (twice), #10 Wilson and Division III state 3^rd Sandlin.

Outside of Denlinger, the rest of the top guys all have some good wins, but at least one loss that hurts their “stock” so to speak.  Levitsky has been brilliant all year, going unbeaten and posting a convincing 7-1 win over Egnor at NOC, but then he lost to Williams at Sectionals which was something of a head-scratcher.  Then again, as with Williams’ brother John we don’t see these guys against enough top competition to really gauge where they fit into the big picture. The highly aggressive McDougle looked tough at Brecksville against Denlinger despite losing, has a pin against Egnor, and a win over Wilson, but recently lost to Dakota Mays (though he also has two dominant wins over Mays). Shump was pinned by Egnor, though he has looked very good since.Egnor has the losses to Levitsky and also to Nelson of Clay.  I feel that the order is definitely correct based on the results so far, but any eventual order between the wrestlers ranked 2-8 would not come as a surprise.

Two of the most difficult wrestlers to rank were Andrew Mendel- because he has no matches against the other top guys, and Sonny Lucas- because he competed all season at 138 (where he had a big win over Zollinge and Steed). Either of these wrestlers may prove to be ranked too low.

As is so often the case, it will be a dogfight to grab those coveted 3^rd and 4^th place spots at Cleveland State and Mentor. Fairfield should send a very respectable trio to
Columbus as well in Denlinger, Newell, and Mendel, with the final spot up for grabs.

Division I 138 lbs Rankings and Analysis

1	Noah Forrider	Marysville	Darby	Senior
2	Collin Heffernan	St. Edward	Cleveland State	Senior
3	Casey Sparkman	Massillon Perry	Mentor	Sophomore
4	Drew McDougle	Gahanna Lincoln	Darby	Senior
5	Nick Montgomery	Madison	Mentor	Senior
6	Eli Garcia	Lorain	Cleveland State	Senior
7	Mathias Zollinger	Wadsworth	Cleveland State	Senior
8	Jordan Branham	Miamisburg	Fairfield	Senior
9	Mason Calvert	Sidney	Fairfield	Senior
10	Adam Sams	Fairfield	Fairfield	Senior
11	Anthony Alexander	Northland	Darby	Senior
12	Nick Steed	Glen Oak	Cleveland State	Sophomore
13	Tanner Miller	Lancaster	Darby	Sophomore
14	Evan Morgan	Elder	Fairfield	Junior
15	Mike DeCesare	Nordonia	Cleveland State	Junior
16	Kyle Workman	Parma	Cleveland State	Junior
17	Alex Funderburg	Amherst Steele	Cleveland State	Senior
18	Jordan Collins	Mason	Fairfield	Senior
19	Jimmy Hiller	Twinsburg	Mentor	Senior
20	David Masch	Uniontown Lake	Mentor	Sophomore
21	Grayson Davis	Brecksville	Cleveland State	Junior
22	Jonathan Tallarigo	Cincinnati Moeller	Fairfield	Junior
23	Nick Lawler	Hilliard Davidson	Darby	Junior
24	Dick Kelly	North Olmsted	Cleveland State	Senior
25	Ducan Bauer	Kenston	Mentor	Junior

 

It has never been a secret that this would be the toughest weight class in Division I this year. With Dean Heil at 132 and Edgar Bright at 145, top middleweights were clearly going to be highly motivated to find their way to this weight class in hopes of winning a title, and that’s exactly what has happened. All told, seven state placers have competed here, along with an outstanding quartet of state qualifiers who are every bit as good as the placers- for a total of 11 top echelon competitors at this weight.

Colin Heffernan jumped out to the head of the pack first at Ironman, placing 5^th in a loaded weight and earning a national ranking.  Among his wins was a dominant win over state placer Isaac Bast of Perry.  However, if any wrestler in this state has subsequently made a quantum leap forward, it has to be Noah Forrider.  Already a 3x state placer, the Marysville Senior has taken it to an entirely new level. He began the season by pinning Division III state runner-up  Zane Nelson, wrestling up a weight. Since then, he has scored completely dominant wins over state placers McDougle, Bast, and Calvert.  But the “big one” was when he pulled the shocker of the season, moving up to 145 and actually defeating Edgar Bright- something that was considered virtually unthinkable.  For good measure, he also moved up and defeated #2 at 145 Jake Ryan.  All in all there is no denying his status as the favorite at this weight.

A darkhorse contender is  Casey Sparkman of Perry.  The sophomore transfer from California was having a solid season at 145, but since dropping to 138 has been dynamite.  Presumably, he defeated Bast to take the spot, and then beat Heffernan at state duals . Most recently he won 20-7

Two wrestlers who should not be overlooked here are state 4^th place finishers McDougle and Montgomery.  McDougle has an aggressive style that could pose problems for any of the top three.  Remember he was 4^th a year ago when the top three were Ward, Bright, and Squire. Montgomery would be a 3x state placer right now in all likelihood if not for being slowed by injury last year. His mat wrestling could pose problems for the higher ranked wrestlers if he’s 100%.

Division I 145 lbs. Rankings and Analysis

1	Edgar Bright	Lakewood St. Edward	Cleveland State	Senior
2	Jake Ryan	Olentangy	Darby	Senior
3	Isaac Bast	Massillon Perry	Mentor	Junior
4	Lucas Marcelli	Massillon Jackson	Mentor	Senior
5	Wyatt Music	Ashland	Cleveland State	Senior
6	Ryan Roth	Perrysburg	Cleveland State	Senior
7	AJ Kowal	Princeton	Fairfield	Junior
8	Trey Grine	Fremont Ross	Cleveland State	Junior
9	Tyrone McGuniea	Twinsburg	Mentor	Senior
10	Bo Ransom	Madison	Mentor	Junior
11	Jairod James	Bedford	Mentor	Junior
12	Matt Degroff	Uniontown Lake	Mentor	Sophomore
13	Lucas Staten	Mount Vernon	Darby	Sophomore
14	Dillon Ashton	Mentor	Mentor	Senior
15	Austin Strnad	Brecksville	Cleveland State	Junior
16	Kevin Leonhardt	Lakota West	Fairfield	Senior
17	Melvin Johnson	Maple Heights	Mentor	Senior
18	Emilio Dibennedetto	Upper Arlington	Darby	Junior
19	Cody Pollitt	Olentangy	Darby	Junior
20	Caleb Llaneza	Westerville South	Darby	Junior
21	Brad Huber	Sycamore	Fairfield	Senior
22	Bryce Williams	Amherst Steele	Cleveland State	Senior
23	Kyle Wahl	Worthington Kilbourne	Darby	Senior
24	Abdulhabib Abdulhabib	Wadsworth	Cleveland State	Senior
25	David Docherty	Parma	Mentor	Junior

 

Here we have a battle of two outstanding wrestlers who are due to catch a break after coming up just short in a number of big matches.  Without question, this is the state finals I look forward to the most, should they be in opposite brackets.  Let’s look at each:

First we have Edgar Bright, a 2x State Runner-up with overtime losses to George Dicamillo and Joey Ward, both two time state champions who are actually nationally ranked as true freshmen in college. Last year’s state final with Ward was easily the highlight of the finals.  Bright seemed to outwrestle him all six minutes and was in on numerous great shots, only for Ward to somehow pull off a mind-blowing counters and allow no points, and eventually avenge his earlier loss to Bright. Despite that loss, the list of wrestlers throughout the nation that Bright has beaten over the past two years is just incredible. The list includes Anthony Ashnault (who is about to become New Jersey’s first four-time unbeaten state champ), Zane Retherford (Cadet World Champs and Junior National Freestyle Champ and  considered by some the nation’s best high school wrestler, period), Alex Cisneros (one shocking upset away from becoming California’s first 4x state champ), Joey Ward, Kagan Squire (three times) and we would include Mark Grey of Blair in there as well if not for some shockingly bad officiating.  And yet, this is a wrestler who may be in at least some jeopardy of completing his career without a state title)

So how it is possible that a wrestler who has beaten the best of the best nationally is in danger of losing to a wrestler who placed 7^th at state last year  in  Jake Ryan? Three reasons- first, Ryan is no ordinary 7^th place state finisher.  A year ago he competed in what was one of the toughest state tournament weight classes in history- there were as many as 6-8 wrestlers who were good enough to be state champions.  In the first round, Ryan outwrestled eventual state champ Mitch Newhouse for the majority of the match, only for Newhouse to score very late and squeak the match out. Newhouse went on to beat Michael Labry in the finals, a wrestler that Ryan  had split with- so it’s not impossible to imagine a scenario where Jake Ryan is your 138 lb. state champ (of course, the same could be said of Labry, Angelo Amenta, Noah Forrider, or Nick Barber).  Dropping into the consolation bracket, Ryan first eliminated 2x state placer Matt Hammer (who had also beaten Newhouse earlier in the year) and then returning state placer Sams (did I mention this weight class was tough?) before losing a close bout to Amenta- a returning 3^rd place state finisher who he had beaten twice before.  Hardly your ordinary 7^th place state finish.

The second reason that I think Ryan is in this match is that I think he’s improved more over the past year than Bright has.  Two years ago, Jake Ryan was barely on the radar, a quick 0-2 at state who wouldn’t have qualified if not for a weak District.  Fast forward two years, and he was able to move up a weight class and take on 2x state champ and Junior National Freestyle Champion Anthony Collica, and take him into overtime tiebreakers.  Bright, to me, hasn’t looked quite as inspired as he did a year ago, and his loss to Forrider is evidence of that (though it likely serves as a wakeup call).

Finally, I think Bright is a small 145, who would likely be at 138 if the team wasn’t better off with him here. Ryan, by contrast, appears to be a big 145, which could come into play on Saturday Night when the wrestlers have had ample time to fully rehydrate.

At the end of the day, however, you can’t bet against someone with as many high level wins as Bright, and 2x Division III state champ Jacob Danishek is a key common opponent. Bright won narrowly over Danishek in a one takedown match, Ryan lost a heartbreaker on a late takedown (though frankly, he looked as good or better).

Generally a stud like Bright will “clear out” a weight class.  However, with national champ Collica at 152, there is/was nowhere to run and as a  result, you have as good of a field here as at any of the 42 weights. #3-5 in my view is the trio of state placers Isaac Bast, Lucas Marcelli, and Wyatt Music. I am protesting my own rankings here.  Looking at their entire careers, I believe that Music is the best of the three, followed by Marcelli, then Bast (Bast being small for the weight it would seem is part of my reasoning).  However, the results so far have went just the opposite, with Bast beating Marcelli who beat Music (all very close), so that’s how I’ve got to rank them. Music hasn’t been quite as sharp as he was a year ago- but I believe he’s saving his best for last, as his recent 7-2 win over previously unbeaten Trey Grine shows.

#6 Ryan Roth, #7 AJ Kowal, #8 Trey Grine, and #9 Tyrone Mcguinea are not the caliber of kids that you might expect to see  ranked as they are, but in the infinite wisdom of the NFHS, we get weights like this that more talent than 182, 195, 220, and 285 combined- so get used to it. State placer Roth had a nice showing at Ironman and he may be able to unseat one of the above group.  Kowal seems to be able to wrestle a very close match with almost anyone but has not quite figured out how to beat the very top guys- no shame in that.  I think he’s due for a big win.  Grine was something like 44-0 going into the Sectional Finals where he lost to Music as mentioned- including a win over Mossing, ranked #1 in the 138 lb. weight class in Division II. Mcguinea I think is a half-step behind, though it’s difficult to say for sure as the only result I have for him against a top guy this year is getting pinned by Collica.

With 7 of the top 16 coming from Mentor in what is arguably the toughest of all 42 weights, some very good wrestlers will not be attending the state tournament at this weight.

Division I 152  lbs. Rankings and Analysis              

1	Anthony Collica	Solon	Mentor	Senior
2	Markus Scheidel	Lakewood St. Edward	Cleveland State	Senior
3	Tony Dailey	Massillon Perry	Mentor	Junior
4	LaTrell Davis	Middletown	Fairfield	Senior
5	JP Newton	Perrysburg	Cleveland State	Junior
6	Wyatt Wilson	Cincinnati Moeller	Fairfield
7	Dylan Lauffer	Fairfield	Fairfield	Senior
8	Nick Lancia	Watkins Memorial	Darby	Senior
9	Deshon Johnson	Maple Heights	Mentor	Senior
10	Damen Dominique	Oregon Clay	Cleveland State	Senior
11	David Celinski	Garfield Heights	Mentor	Senior
12	Aaron Yarger	Pickerington Central	Darby	Junior
13	Robert Kersey	Miamisburg	Fairfield	Senior
14	Andrew McNally	Uniontown Lake	Mentor	Freshman
15	Conner Rigsby	Painesville Riverside	Mentor	Junior
16	Aaron Sweeney	Madison	Mentor	Senior
17	Anthony Trocchio	Dublin Scioto	Darby	Senior
18	Jacob Hinz	Westerville North	Darby	Sophomore
19	Danny Pushpak	Brecksville	Cleveland State	Senior
20	Payton Geary	Fremont Ross	Cleveland State	Junior
21	Scott Deluse	Lancaster	Darby	Junior
22	Robbie Bosley	Wadsworth	Cleveland State	Junior
23	Tom Lehman	Akron Firestone	Mentor	Senior
24	Alex Parker	Elyria	Cleveland State	Senior
25	Austin Williams	Amherst Steele	Cleveland State	Junior

 

This is the third weight in a row with great up-top strength- though the depth isn’t quite what we see at 138 and 145.  Without question, we will have one of the marquee matches of the finals should the rematch of Collica and Scheidel come to pass as it certainly expected.  After all, Collica is a junior national champion  and 2x state champion.  A relentless attacker, he maintains great positioning at all times.

#2 Scheidel (ranked #9 in the nation)seems to make a steady improvement every year.  This year, he looks stronger and more confident than he ever has, and his recent win over Alex Marinelli just underscores  how good he is.  That said, I can’t see him winning this match, even though last year’s bout was 1-1 with a minute to go.  Both of these guys are primarily leg attack specialists who maintain great position and beat you with hustle.  Collica is just a little more athletic and has a little more of a motor than Scheidel does in my view. I think if they wrestled ten times all ten bouts would be close, but all ten would be won by Collica.  I expect a bout similar to their match  at Regional Dual Finals, won by Collica on the strength of two takedowns, 5-2.

#3 Tony Dailey without question is one of the year’s most improved wrestlers.  Never a state qualifier before this year, the Perry Junior made the wrestling world take notice on Friday at the Ironman, scoring a 17-2 Technical Fall over 3x Kentucky State Champ and Cadet All-American Kevin Cooper.  Dailey followed that up by beating Jake Bass, a FILA Cadet National Champ ranked in the nation’s top ten. Although he lost his next three to finish 6^th on Saturday, all three matches were against opponents ranked in the top 10-15 in the nation, and the losses were by a point, in overtime, and 4-2.  Dailey went on to wrestle Scheidel at M.I.T. and although he lost just 5-4, for some reason I can’t see him beating the St. Edward senior- much as I can’t see Scheidel beating Collica.

Latrell Davis seems to be a solid choice for #4.  A state qualifier a year ago, his main claim to fame this year has been close losses- 2-1 to Cooper and in overtime rideouts against Stephen Myers.  Apart from that he’s unbeaten at 33-2, but his only noteworthy win that I have seen is a 3-2 win over AJ Kowal- ranked #7 at 145. At any rate, either him or #5 Newton is the next best here after the top trio in my view.  Newton hasn’t had quite the season I anticipated- most recently losing in the Sectional Finals to Dominique in a real head-scratcher, but at times he can be brilliant.

Tremendous dropofff after the top five here, especially compared to the incredible depth at 138 and 145.

Division I 160  lbs Rankings and Analysis

1	Quinton Hiles	Brecksville	Mentor	Senior
2	Detuan Smith	Colerain	Fairfield	Junior
3	Dakota Sizemore	Cincinnati Moeller	Fairfield	Junior
4	Jacob Globke	Middletown	Fairfield	Senior
5	Joe Heyob	Cincinnati St. Xavier	Fairfield	Junior
6	Chase Boyd	Marysville	Darby	Junior
7	Mike Wearsch	Amherst Steele	Cleveland State	Senior
8	Nick Stencil	Oregon Clay	Cleveland State	Junior
9	Bruno Millin	Massillon Perry	Mentor	Senior
10	Michael Coleman	Hudson	Mentor	Junior
11	James Caniglia	Loveland	Fairfield	Junior
12	Jesse Palser	Mansfield Senior	Cleveland State	Sophomore
13	Tyler Maloy	North Canton Hoover	Mentor	Junior
14	Markell Wooden	Dublin Coffman	Darby	Senior
15	Robbie Rogers	Lakewood St. Edward	Cleveland State	Senior
16	Jake Denman	Painesville Riverside	Mentor	Senior
17	Shane Mast	Wadsworth	Cleveland State	Sophomore
18	Luther Washington	Lorain	Cleveland State	Junior
19	Taylor Workman	Elyria	Cleveland State	Senior
20	Thoms Gabyak	Medina Highland	Cleveland State	Senior
21	Ethan Bond	Lancaster	Darby	Senior
22	AJ Bondurant	Pickerington Central	Darby	Senior
23	Brian Hawkins	Solon	Mentor	Senior
24	Ja”Von Tolliver	Shaker Heights	Mentor	Senior
25	TJ Smith	Brush	Mentor	Senior

 

Now that Richie Robertson has officially opted for 170, it’s the fab four from Fairfield and Quinton Hiles. Barring a return to 2012 form from Sizemore, I think  Hiles takes it.

If I had to make my “all-improved” team, Quinton Hiles would be right there with guys like Forrider and Tony Dailey. 6^th in the state a year ago, the Brecksville Senior put the Ohio wrestling world on notice that he meant business by pinning highly regarded Dakota Sizemore of Moeller at Ironman. From there, he reached the finals at Beast of the East, beating at least one nationally ranked wrestler along the way.  From there, it was on to slaying state champions at the Brecksville Tournament, notably, Mays of Nelsonville York and Moore of Clyde on the strength of two Peterson rolls.  All that was at 170.  There is no reason to believe he won’t be more effective at 160 as he appeared small at 170 to me.

A very impressive 3^rd at state a year ago, #3 Sizemore would have been a huge favorite at the start of the season  in this field. This year, he just doesn’t seem to quite have it.  He’s wrestled three major opponents per my information- and lost to all three (Corba, Hiles, and Smith).  At the start of the year, it was almost unthinkable that he’d lose to any of the three, much less all three.

At first I thought that Sizemore’s recent loss to Detuan Smith was just Sizemore slumping, but then I noted that Smith also had a very recent 12-3 win over #4 Globke.  As such, I think he’s hit a new level (Globke had beaten him 10-3 earlier in the year), and will win the loaded Fairfield District as well as providing Hiles’ stiffest challenge.

#5 Heyob may prove to be underrated here. I have to keep him at #5 because he lost to #4 Globke 3-2 back in December, but since then he’s looked very good, including a 5-0 win over Division III Sandlin, who beat #2 Smith here.   Truth be told, I find the Cincinnati quartet to be very interchangeable based on their results.

#6 Chase Boyd is right there with the Cincinnati guys- in fact, he defeated #2 Smith there.  However, many people beat Smith early in the year, and  my belief in ranking him #2 is that he’s come a long way over the course the of the season. Nevertheless, it would hardly be a surprise to see Boyd (8^th at 145 a year ago) make the finals opposite Hiles.

All in all, a very deep weight class. #7-11 I would designate as a second tier a half step behind the top six, but unlike at 152, this group is very close to the top group and to see one or more of them place high would not come as a surprise. Seven of the top 11 wrestlers in this weight class are juniors, which ought to make for some great battles here and at 170 a year from now.

Division I 170 lbs Rankings and Analysis

1	Richard Robertson	Maple Heights	Maple Heights	Senior
2	Rocco Caywood	Maumee	Cleveland State	Junior
3	Nick Corba	Beavercreek	Fairfield	Senior
4	Tyler Hughes	Brunswick	Cleveland State	Senior
5	Michael Weber	Loveland	Fairfield	Junior
6	Matt Walker	Hilliard Darby	Darby	Senior
7	Kyle Schmidt	Miamisburg	Fairfield	Junior
8	Tim Knipl	Wadsworth	Cleveland State	Sophomore
9	Ason Sunkle	Pickerington Central	Darby	Senior
10	Anthony McLaughlin	St. Ignatius	Mentor	Junior
11	Troy Lang	Brecksille	Cleveland State	Junior
12	Chris Mattress	Elder	Fairfield	Senior
13	Dean Meyer	Cincinnati Moeller	Fairfield	Junior
14	Joe Howard	North Canton Hoover	Mentor	Senior
15	Blake Reid	Upper Arlington	Darby	Junior
16	Josh Zeck	Parma	Mentor	Senior
17	Alec Gilchrist	Centerville	Fairfield	Senior
18	RJ Funk	Lancaster	Darby	Senior
19	Matt Stencel	Oregon Clay	Cleveland State	Freshman
20	Shelton Evans	St. Francis Desales	Cleveland State	Senior
21	Taylor Opp	Findlay	Cleveland State	Senior
22	Luke Boswell	Canton McKinley	Mentor	Senior
23	Yousef Mustafa	Westlake	Cleveland State	Senior
24	Ray Barr	Lakewood St. Edward	Cleveland State	Senior
25	Jacob Gladwell	Green	Mentor	Senior

 

This weight will be interesting to see how it plays out.  My view is that Caywood and Robertson have established themselves as the class of the weight class- with Corba, Hughes, and maybe Weber not far behind.  What makes comparisons difficult are the fact that Robertson competed at 152 and Caywood 170 last year, and  neither has any common opponents that I can find this year.  Robertson has an impressive 7-2 win over #4 Hughes, but Caywood has two wins over #3 Corba (one by an 8-2 score) so that’s kind of a “wash”.

Stylistically, Caywood  (for those who haven’t seen him) is about 6’3”, so it’s possible that his leverage will present problems for Caywood. At the end of the day , however- I need pretty compelling evidence to pick a guy who went 1-2 at state last year over a state runner-up, up two weight classes or not.  Moreover, I have no doubt that Coach Milkovich will have Robertson ready for the unique challenges presented by Caywood’s leverage and will keep the match on their feet.  Still, it’s a tough call.

#3 Corba is a Greco Specialist in the summer (Fargo All-American at both the Cadet and Junior Level) and placed 4^th at state two years ago, but lost two narrow matches in the very deep 160 lb. weight a year ago and didn’t place.  #4 Tyler Hughes is part of that resurgent Brunswick squad which recently won the NOC Conference. Hughes has had a banner season, and he put an exclamation on that season with a win over Quentin Hiles of Brecksville (a task that the two returning state champs at this weight could not accomplish).  I may have him ranked too low. #5 Weber is a returning placer at this weight (7^th) but lost to Corba earlier this year.  After the top top four or top five perhaps, there is a significant drop off at this weight.

Division I 182 lbs Rankings and Analysis

1	Domenic Abounader	Lakewood St. Edward	Cleveland State	Senior
2	Gunner Lay	Loveland	Fairfield	Junior
3	Garrett Connor	Kettering Fairmont	Fairfield	Senior
4	Thomas Danis	Mason	Fairfield	Senior
5	Quinton Rosser	Cincinnati Moeller	Fairfield	Junior
6	Logan Paul	Westlake	Cleveland State	Senior
7	Nate Hall	Olentangy	Darby	Sophomore
8	Alexander Belaia-Martinouk	North Olmsted	Cleveland State	Senior
9	Justin Halaska	Parma	Mentor	Senior
10	Eric Claren	Nordonia	Cleveland State	Junior
11	Hamza Kirresh	Avon	Cleveland State	Senior
12	Andew Shackelford	Thomas Worthington	Darby	Senior
13	Andrew Sierawski	Delaware Hayes	Darby	Junior
14	Gage Finegan	Stown Monroe Falls	Mentor	Senior
15	Danny Tiley	Hudson	Mentor	Senior
16	Joe Cordova	Boardman	Mentor	Senior
17	Charlie Dear	Massillon Jackson	Mentor	Senior
18	Cole Jones	St. Xavier	Fairfield	Sophomore
19	Kevin McGraw	Troy	Fairfield	Junior
20	Ross Lonsway	Holland Springfield	Cleveland State	Junior
21	Trevor Parker	Hilliard Darby	Darby	Junior
22	Drew Schieman	Madison	Mentor	Senior
23	Trevon Austin	Glenville	Mentor	Senior
24	Clay Haverfield	North Canton Hoover	Mentor	Sophomore
25	Michael Plunkett	Fairfield	Fairfield	Senior

 

Twenty years from now if two Ohio Wrestling fans are reminiscing about some of the big match-ups and great weight classes they have seen at the state tournament, I do not anticipate that this weight class will get mentioned.  As dominant as an upperweight as Domenic Abounader would have been without the NFHS’s help- with these current weight classes the majority of what would have been his competition is simply able to opt for 195.  Put Abounader with Tayse and Kluk…now that would have been worth watching.  As it is, he will march through this weight class almost without breaking a sweat.

Just like at 160, the Fairfield quartet should set the tone here. The top challengers, such as it is, are state placers #2 Gunner Lay (in 2011), and #3 Garrett Conner.  Conner is down from 195 a year ago.  These wrestlers both exit the Fairfield District along with #4 Danis and #5 Quinton Rosser.  Rosser has split two close match with Conner this year, winning the most recent bout. However, Rosser lost at Sectionals to #4 Danis in a very close bout.  Lay  defeated Conner 5-3 at Brecksville, but really, to see any of the four emerge would not come as a surprise. State Placer Halaska (8^th last year) could also be a factor here, but is currently ranked  9^th after having an up amd down season.

Division I  195 lbs Rankings and Analysis

1	JoJo Tayse	Massillon Perry	Mentor	Senior
2	Adam Kluk	Medina Highland	Cleveland State	Senior
3	Gabe Dzuro	Lakewood St. Edward	Cleveland State	Senior
4	Tegrey Scales	Cincinnati Elder	Fairfield	Junior
5	Aaron Tschantz	Barberton	Mentor	Senior
6	Matt Lybarger	Mount Vernon	Darby	Junior
7	Kyle Conel	Ashtabula Lakeside	Mentor	Senior
8	Josh Murphy	Brecksville	Cleveland State	Junior
9	Eddie Silva	Oregon Clay	Cleveland State
10	Jarrod Hardrick	Anthony Wayne	Cleveland State	Senior
11	Austin Pfarr	Marysville	Darby	Junior
12	Jerry Thornsberry	Cincinnati Moeller	Fairfield	Junior
13	Lenn’s Kamba	Olenangy Orange	Darby	Junior
14	Tinashe Bere	Sycamore	Fairfield	Junior
15	Stephen Ludwig	Fairfield	Fairfield	Senior
16	Joe Repasky	Cuyahoga Falls	Mentor	Senior
17	Jordan Reed	Reynoldsburg	Darby	Senior
18	Tyler Stephens	Ashland	Cleveland State	Junior
19	Shawn Johnson	Delaware Hayes	Darby	Junior
20	Marquise Copeland	Bedford	Mentor	Sophomore
21	Dennis Breeding	Amherst Steele	Cleveland State	Junior
22	Johnny Arroyo	Maumee	Cleveland State	Senior
23	Adam Tonkin	Centerville	Fairfield	Junior
24	Bobby Upshaw	Cleveland Heights	Mentor	Senior
25	Hunter Kidd	Hilliard Bradley	Darby	Junior

 

Not surprisingly, here we have a stronger field than at 195, as wrestlers seek to avoid Abounader.   Defending state champion Jo Jo Tayse has not had the season  he was probably hoping for, but remains the favorite in my view.  His two greatest challengers would seem to be 2x state placer Adam Kluk and Gabe Dzuro of St. Edward.  It’s difficult to say whether either stands a legitimate chance at an upset.  My first inclination is to say that they don’t, but then again, when I look at some of the guys Tayse has been having close matches with that he should be dominating, a repeat may not be inevitable. Most recently, Tayse pinned  state placer of Tschantz of Barberton so that is encouraging.

#2 Kluk has had a few hiccups along the way, but has convincing wins over #3 Dzuro and #5 Tschantz, so he’s a solid choice for the second spot. Dzuro lost to Kluk as mentioned by a score of 9-4, but beat an excellent wrestler named Neff at Ironman who had beaten Kluk, so he may yet emerge as Tayse biggest challenger.  It would be an ironic turn of events if Tayse- who last year upset Suvak after losing to him so many times- would get upset himself by a wrestler who was Suvak’s backup last year. Of course, if anyone knows how to get their wrestlers to peak at the right time, it’s St. Edward.  Then again, just when I think Dzuro may be ready for the prime time (he was an Ironman finalist after all) he goes an wrestles an overtime tiebreaker bout in the Sectional Semifinals with some guy named “Moose” from  North Olmsted.

I think that the second tier here is Matt Lybarger, Aaron Tschantz, and Tegray Scales.  At Brecksville, Lybarger was champion, Tschantz 2^nd, and Scales slumped to 6^th.  However, I am throwing those results out completely.  Having watched the finals match, Tschantz got an easy first takedown and seemed to be in control the entire match.  Quite literally, Lybarger attempted zero wrestling moves for six minutes in that bout, until coming up with a lateral drop at the buzzer against an opponent who seemingly had been lulled to sleep.  I find that result unlikely to repeat itself, and given that Scales beat Lybarger by a more convincing 7-3 earlier in the year, and that Tschantz (6^th) and Scales (4^th) are returning placers while Lybarger is just a qualifier, I am ranking them in the order you see above.  Kyle Conel of Lakeside brings a highly impressive 43-0 record to Districts, but is untested against the best here.  He does have a win over State 8^th Halaska and State Qualifier Repasky.

Division I  220 lbs Rankings and Analysis

1	Chalmer Frueauf	Cincinnati Moeller	Fairfield	Junior
2	Evan Roseborough	Painesville Riverside	Mentor	Senior
3	Vernon Rowe	Barberton	Mentor	Senior
4	Devin Revels	Maple Heights	Mentor	Senior
5	Conan Jennings	Centerville	Fairview	Junior
6	Devin Nye	Holland Springfield	Cleveland State	Junior
7	Nathan Martin	Vandalia Butler	Fairview	Senior
8	Jared Gray	Oregon Clay	Cleveland State	Senior
9	Roy Ware	Cuyahoga Falls	Mentor	Junior
10	Austin Linden	Brecksville	Cleveland State	Senior
11	Morgan Miller	Marysville	Darby	Senior
12	Brett Mowery	Dublin Jerome	Darby	Senior
13	Parker Knapp	Lakewood St. Edward	Cleveland State	Sophomore
14	Kevin Agee	Shaker Heights	Mentor	Senior
15	Nick Isaacs	Withrow	Fairfield	Junior
16	Seth Brennock	Loveland	Fairfield	Junior
17	Alex Woicehovich	Nordonia		Junior
18	Chris Crumb	Olentangy	Darby	Freshman
19	Max Lacey	Canal Winchester	Darby	Senior
20	Garrett Snyder	North Royalton	Mentor	Junior
21	Granyl Smith	Gahanna Lincoln	Darby	Senior
22	CJ Kinzer	Teays Valley		Senior
23	Andy Struttman	Westerville North	Darby	Junior
24	Andrew Kostecka	Troy	Fairfield	Junior
25	Kelvin Jordan	Colerain	Fairfield	Junior

 

Chalmer Freauf  vs. Evan Roseborough should be one of the most hotly contested bouts of the state tournament.  Both were 4^th at state a year ago (Freauf has been 4^th twice) and both look a lot better than they did last year. Freauf is currently ranked #10 in the nation after a great 3^rd place showing at Powerade (where he lost only to all-galaxy Kyle Snyder by fall).  Roseborough beat state champion Tayse at Ironman and has shown no signs of letting up.

I believe that Freauf has the edge. Not only is that just my “gut instinct” of observing these two wrestlers over the last few  years, but looking at common  opponents- Freauf beat the wrestler from Canton-Mac (Ironman Finalist Campbell) who beat the wrestler (Garrett Ryan) who beat Roseborough for 3^rd at Ironman (by a score of 9-1).  At any rate, I think Freauf is a half step ahead.

A clear #3, however, is Vernon Rowe- 6^th in the state a year ago. You always know you are going to get a lot of hustle and heart from Rowe, but he is simply a step behind the top duo here in my view. #4 Revels failed to get out last year in a tough District, but is unbeaten this season including a 7-1 win over state placer Rutherford of Norton.  I except big things from him- in part because Jamie Milkovich has such a great track record with his upperweights.

This is one of those weights where it’s very helpful to think in terms of “groups” or “tiers”. You have the top two, then you have Rowe and Revels, and then #5 through about #14 or #15 are all very close.

Division I  285lbs Rankings and Analysis

1	Travis Gusan	Hilliard Davidson	Darby	Senior
2	Chuck Morgan	Ashtabula Lakeside	Mentor	Senior
3	Truman Gutapfel	Harrison	Fairfield	Senior
4	Ameer Daniels	Cincinnati Northwest	Fairfield	Senior
5	Jacob Burton	Lakota East	Fairfield	Senior
6	Andrew Alten	Loveland	Fairfield	Junior
7	Ralph Nichols	St. Edward	Cleveland State	Junior
8	Stefano Millin	Massillon Perry	Mentor	Junior
9	Marquis Moore	Whitmer	Cleveland State	Senior
10	Yoshi Akutsu	Dublin Scioto	Darby	Senior
11	Corey Sigfried	Glen Oak	Mentor	Senior
12	Aaron Cosby	Holland Springfield	Fairfield	Senior
13	Nathan Lewis	Kenston	Mentor	Senior
14	Jim Hammontree	North Canton Hooover	Mentor	Senior
15	Chandler Evanichko	Grove City	Darby	Senior
16	Alex Dalton	Troy	Fairfield	Junior
17	Darius Walker	Marysville	Darby	Senior
18	Mark Dahlman	Green	Mentor	Senior
19	Daryk Maki	Wadsworth	Cleveland State	Senior
20	Robbie Parker	Hamilton	Fairfield	Senior
21	Sam Burns	St. Francis Desales	Cleveland State	Senior
22	Max Swoboda	Cincinnati Moeller	Fairfield	Senior
23	TJ Halstead	Elyria	Cleveland State	Senior
24	Jalil Dolton	Fremont Ross	Cleveland State	Senior
25	Kevin Johnson	Elder	Fairfield	Senior

 

There have been some great Division I heavyweight classes over the years- 2003, 2004, and 2007 come to mind here.  This is not one of those fields.  Two of the very top contenders are guys that had modest credentials at 195 and 220.  Their high ranking I think is an indictment of the weakness of the field.

Travis Gusan is a clear #1 choice.  A dangerous “thrower”, last year he stormed into the state finals something like 40-0 with a tremendous pin percentage, only to have defending state champion Riley Shaw take him the woodshed, quite frankly.  This year, Gusan has not been nearly as dominant, and was very close to losing to Division II contender Billy Miller at Brecksville.  Perhaps his style has been scouted.  At any rate, he remains unbeaten, and in this weak field he’s the favorite.

The wrestlers ranked #2-#5 above are all pretty close in ability as far as I can tell.  I  went with Morgan for the #2 choice because he has arguably the most high-quality win, over Division II state 3^rd place finisher Sharp.

Thanks for taking the time to read this report, and be sure to follow the 8^th year of our highly-detailed live updates starting with the quarterfinals Friday morning!